Hear the Word of God

It was 2017 and I was living and working as a campus missionary in San José, Costa Rica. I shared an apartment with one of our student leaders named Johel Álvarez, who has since become one of my closest friends. At the time, he was studying audiology at the University of Costa Rica.

One day, while philosophizing over a plate of gallo pinto – as we were prone to do – our conversation turned to the role of hearing in the development of language and cognition in infants. He shared that hearing impairment often leads to an inability to produce oral speech. Though there’s usually nothing wrong with their vocal chords, these individuals are unable to reproduce what they have not heard. Now, this may be fairly obvious, but I had never made the connection. He went on to explain how deafness can also lead to cognitive delays and impairments. Again, it’s not that there is anything defective in the wiring of the brain itself, but rather it's the lack of language input that stifles neurodevelopment. Through hearing and eventually reproducing language, whether out loud or through sign language, our minds are formed.

As communicative beings, we're capable of producing sounds and symbols that carry abstract meaning and correspond to the deepest realities of our existence. How amazing is it that the physiology of our brains and our bodies are shaped and influenced by the images and ideas that come into our minds as we communicate with God, others, ourselves, and even our environment. 

Just think about what’s happening in this very moment: I used my mind to process and organize ideas – in the form of words – which I typed in my word processor, which I’m now reproducing with my vocal chords, which is being amplified through the technology of a sound system, and finally, which reaches your ear drum where the sound waves are translated by your brain into words and images that are full of meaning and nuance. And most of this happens without any conscious thought. It’s amazing. Every word we speak is a miracle. Even more amazing is that God himself speaks to us.

This morning, I exhort us: as we hear about the power of the Word of God in today’s sermon, may our spiritual hearing not be impaired. May we marvel at the wonder of the Word of God, and surrender to what he is saying to us by his Spirit. 

And this reminds us of our need to confess our sins.